The Unsung Heroes of Winter
An association is stepping in to make sure the people who plow snow get love as big as those mountains they leave in the Target parking lot.
The Snow & Ice Management Association, based in Milwaukee, Wis., has been getting the word out about everything from the right way to shovel to how to safely walk in the snow and ice, using media interviews and images posted to social media. COO Brian Birch says the strategy was launched a year ago to improve the image of its 1,500 members, who are contractors that clear shopping malls and other large commercial parking lots. Brian says the strategy isn’t necessarily aimed at increasing revenue for its members but more about making people aware that snow contractors do more than clear roads and driveways.
Brian says the strategy, which includes posting images like this one on social media, garnered 500 million media impressions last year, and more are expected this year with the help of an outside consultant. The association has worked with 50 to 60 national and regional media in radio, print, and Web and tapped into large news networks in cities like Chicago and DC. It’s a big change from the association’s previous PR strategy, which involved sending releases to trade press and related associations like those representing landscapers. The new strategy helps members feel better understood and distinguish themselves from the state and municipal snow plowers, who get most of the publicity.
One of the hardest parts in starting the new strategy was the tension between what members think people should know about the industry and what the media finds newsworthy. Which is why SIMA’s press releases this winter are less about hiring a contractor and more about consumer safety tips. The association tests out press releases to see what works and found that its most popular was one teaching people how to walk on snow and ice. (The public wants any excuse to behave more like a penguin.) The story allowed the association to not only educate the public but also draw some attention to the work of its members.
